Page 3

Alex looked at what she’d achieved by thirty, and she was kind of amazed. She had a growing business, she had a little money, and people knew who she was. She was winning. So what if she never got any sleep, and constantly worried about the business? So what if she was always at work?

One day, she’d slow down and find the time to do something other than work. Maybe after she’d gotten a few more clients and felt a bit more established. But more clients was more work, wasn’t it?

She supposed she could do what bosses did and hire more people, work less, and delegate more. But she didn’t want to do that. She didn’t trust other people as much as she trusted herself. She’d made this place, and it needed all she had to give it. So many new PR firms went into administration in the past few years. Walker PR strategies could not be one of them.

And then, one sunny day, Baker poked his head around Alex’s office door and said, ‘You’re not going to believe who just called.’

‘Probably not,’ she agreed.

‘Steven Edmonton.’

‘If I may be so bold, who the hell is that?’ Alex asked him.

‘He’s the PA to… Are you serious? You don’t know who that is?’

‘I don’t know people’s PA’s, Baker. There’s a limit to the information my brain can hold.’

‘He’s basically famous in his own right at this point. I’m kind of shocked,’ Baker sneered.

Alex quickly googled the name on her laptop. The results threw her. ‘He’s Isabelle Kane’s PA?!’

‘Googling is cheating.’

‘I’m OK with that.’

Baker seemed disappointed he couldn’t spin out his news a bit longer. ‘Well, she’s getting divorced.’

‘The PA used that wording?’ Alex asked, excited.

Isabelle Kane was an actual movie star and had been for quite some time. But that wasn’t the only thing that made this case a big deal. The person she was divorcing wasalsoa famous actress, Erin Porter. A very high-profile married couple. It would be a serious coup for the business.

‘He didn’t say she was thinking about it or reviewing her options?’ she checked.

‘Getting divorced, those were his words.’

‘Set up a meeting immediately,’ she said, aware she sounded a touch desperate.

‘OK, boss,’ Baker grinned.

Alex was buzzing at the thought of the step-up her business was about to take. She was completely unaware that she was taking the first step toward throwing her life into total and utter chaos.

Two

Leigh Calloway was at work on the phone with her boss, Jack Allen. But they weren’t chatting. She was listening to him have what she was pretty sure was a heart attack.

‘JACK!’ she screamed. The reply was a groan. She was wasting time and needed to call an ambulance to his house. But she couldn’t hang up on him—just in case.

She ran into the first office she saw; she barely knew the guy sitting in there, but she yelled, ‘Call emergency services and get an ambulance to Jack’s house.’

The guy (Will? Bill? Phil?) looked up and said, ‘What—’

‘7, Caster Street. NOW!’

He picked up his phone without further delay.

Leigh put her phone back to her ear. ‘Jack, can you hear me?’

The groaning was quieter now, but it was still there.